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Billions for Agribusiness and Seafood Bosses, Nothing for the Workers

Seafood Workers Alliance/Alianza de Trabajadorxs de Marsico y Pescado.

Bail Out the Workers!

By Joseph Rosen

The year through May 2019 was the wettest 12-month period on record in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Floods affected 14 million people during this time. The Mississippi River carried floodwater and agricultural runoff deep into the Gulf of Mexico, precipitating a “catastrophic regional fishery disaster,” according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. In response Congress has appropriated $165 million for damages. However, these funds are earmarked for “eligible fisheries,” not for the workers who have lost jobs or wages as a result of this latest capitalist-caused climate change disaster.

The workers deserve a bailout of their own. After all, they are the source of all wealth generated by the seafood industry.

Floodwaters killed 95% of oysters in the Mississippi Sound and toxic algae blooms forced Mississippi beaches to shut down for the entire summer season. As a result, the director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources reported a loss of $150 million to businesses ranging from restaurants to hotels and seafood processing plants. In Louisiana, Gov. Edwards announced that the fishing industry suffered a loss of $258 million.

These figures only reflect a loss of business revenue. What about the loss of wages for deckhands or for workers in seafood processing, food preparation and hospitality? According to the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, more than 25,000 people work in the Louisiana seafood industry alone. While businesses are awaiting their bailouts, workers have suffered setbacks to their health and their housing because of the loss of work.

If the bailouts look anything like those going to agribusiness to pay for Trump’s disastrous trade war, the bulk of the federal funds­—aka tax-payer dollars—will go to big monopoly companies leaving workers by the wayside. Last year the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture set up the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) to shield so called “family farmers” from the loss of revenue due to retaliatory tariffs. The U.S. government has already disbursed $14.4 billion in relief through MFP. The top one-tenth richest recipients have received the majority of all payments. Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation predicts that 67,000 jobs will be lost in the agricultural sector due to Trump’s anti-China trade war.

Big seafood companies are already being subsidized by taxpayers. Omega Proteins, a company whose workers harvest almost all of the menhaden (pogies) from U.S. waters, has received $2,910,958 in tax subsidies from the state of Louisiana since 2010. In that time, at least 5 workers have been killed by unsafe working conditions on Omega’s watch.

The $165 million earmarked for fisheries should be used to help laid off workers get back on their feet. We workers need to fight for our right to a decent, stable, and safe job; the bosses are never going to do that for us.

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Students Stand Up, Fight Back!

Across the country, students are standing up to “hoodie bans” and other oppressive rules.

By Enigma E

This past November students at Helen Cox High School in Harvey, LA walked out of class to protest the injustice done to a female Muslim student, who was harassed and violated by the school administration for wearing a hooded jacket. She was asked to take off her hoodie, which she was using to protect against the cold weather and as a covering for her body as she respectfully practices her faith of Islam. When the administrator tried to forcibly remove the hoodie from the young woman, students came to her defense, which led to the walk-out. As the students protested the oppressive hoodie rule and the mistreatment of one of their peers, the administration called the cops which only escalated the situation. Six cop cars and two firetrucks showed up to the school. The cops arrested a sixteen-year-old student and charged him with battery of a police officer in addition to other charges.

The students were reacting to the over policing of their bodies and culture. Jefferson Parish School District started enforcing the “hoodie rule” after the murder of Trayvon Martin, while the racist, capitalist-owned media was busy blaming Trayvon for his own murder. This campaign went hard criminalizing young Black people for their choice of clothing.

The way the police handled the youth at their school is indicative of how the police handle poor people on the streets. The police don’t handle rich white people the way they handle poor people of color. It’s been like that for the entire history of AmeriKKKa. Across the globe, capitalist white supremacist rule holds back the masses of the global working class.

The ruling class news sold the students’ righteous protest as “Muslim student’s refusal to remove hoodie leads to chaos at Helen Cox High School.” This oppressive headline implies to the reader that some crazy non-white, non-Christian students were acting violently. The Workers Voice says the students have the right to stand up against oppression!

More actions like this are needed in schools and cities across the country. The world is waiting for the U.S. working class to rise up and revolt against their oppressors. If we don’t, the rich ruling class will continue to make things worse for us. We have to fight back. The youth are some of the most fearless fighters the working class has got.

Young people are justified in their frustration with the capitalist system. They just have to direct that rage towards revolution! Let the youth be free! All power to the people!

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High Schoolers’ Freedom of Expression Under Attack

By Adam Pedesclaux

Far from doing anything to address the root causes of mass shootings, Congress is using these tragedies to sneak an attack on students’ right to privacy and free speech. Texas Senator John Cornyn recently introduced a bill called the Restoring, Enhancing, Securing, and Promoting Our Nation’s Safety Efforts (RESPONSE) Act which would broaden the discretion police have to surveil and repress students based on their online activity. The act would also require federally funded schools to contract for-profit surveillance companies to monitor students’ social media posts for “inappropriate content.”

People are understandably desperate to put an end to mass shootings, but that’s not what this act is really about. If Senator Cornyn were really concerned about curbing mass shootings, he would denounce the white supremacist National Rifle Association and other lobbies for the arms profiteers. Cornyn won’t because he’d lose a source of campaign funds, having taken over $210,000 from these lobbies.

The real reason that this bill has been proposed is that students are beginning to rise up against the oppressive conditions they face in and out of school. The capitalists and their politicians view this as a threat, so they’re moving to suppress the youth’s power.

This act falls in line with other national tragedies that have been used to increase police surveillance on U.S. residents. They want to use school shootings as cover for the diversion of more of our tax dollars to private surveillance companies. They want to empower police to judge whether or not students’ posts are “suspect” or not. The record on police fusion center databases is clear: a person’s speech is most likely to be judged “suspect” when they disagree with the policies of the U.S. government. Progressive minded—not to mention revolutionary—people will be hounded by these “Big Brother” type programs while openly violent white supremacists occupy Congress and the White House. The FBI names earth protectors as one of the largest threats to the country. Funny that they pose such a threat to capitalism!

As workers, we must stop putting up with these bullshit programs. We cannot keep sacrificing our rights to millionaire liars. If we want violence to stop, it is CRITICAL that we ORGANIZE our own communities. The Feds are not going to protect us. We workers hold the collective power to protect our loved ones.

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LGBTQ Workers Benefit from a Union

National union leaders and LGBTQ activists and allies at the Pride at Work Triennial Convention.

By Sally Jane Black

Whether it’s being fired for who we are or harassment over what bathroom we use, sexual assault from customers or offensive homophobic jokes from our bosses, LGBTQ workers often face hostile work environments, especially from bosses and owners. 22% of LGBTQ people face discrimination on the job, with LGBTQ people of color facing it far more often. Nearly half of all LGBTQ workers are in the closet at work because they fear discrimination.

To whom can you turn?

Laws Don’t Protect Us
Though Title VII laws were reinterpreted under Obama to allegedly protect LGBTQ workers, the current administration has rolled that back. The issue is now in the courts. There is no state-level law to protect you, and the city ordinance has no teeth (though the New Orleans Human Rights Commission has recently gained investigative powers, they still have no power to enforce the ordinance on the books). Even if there were laws to protect you, you don’t have the money to take anyone to court.

The cops won’t do anything. They’re on the side of the bosses. For most, there’s no way to fight back.

Solidarity is the Answer
In some workplaces, however, LGBTQ workers can turn to the union.
In 1988, workers in Boston organized and went on strike, taking on Harvard University. On their list of demands were raises, healthcare benefits, and protections for gay workers. The university came back with everything but the protections, and the workers refused to go back to work. After a few more days, Harvard conceded. They won the protections in their union contract.

Around the country, LGBTQ protections have become a common part of union contracts, and in union workplaces, LGBTQ workers have their contracts to protect them and the union to back them up.

“An Injury to One Is an Injury to All” is the spirit in which the organization Pride at Work fights against discrimination. Founded in 1994, Pride at Work supports LGBTQ union members around the country. The fight for workers’ rights must include ALL workers; by standing together, we win not just better wages and benefits, but protection from harassment, discrimination, and violence in the workplace. Only as organized workers standing in solidarity can we protect ourselves from homophobia and transphobia.

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Domestic Workers Fight to Win Bill of Rights

The Philadelphia City Council has passed a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. This is the result of a year-long campaign waged by the Pennsylvania Domestic Workers Alliance, which is affiliated with the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The passage of the bill is a gigantic win for the city’s 16,000 domestic workers, including housekeepers, gardeners, and those who care for children and the elderly.

The new legislation requires employers to have a written contract outlining scheduling, pay rates, and more. Employers must now provide two weeks notice before termination. The bill stipulates requirements for paid time off, meal, and rest breaks.

Nationally, domestic workers lack basic protections. The federal government does not guarantee them the right to a minimum wage, or to unionize. They do not have the right to overtime pay, nor do they have protection from discrimination and harassment. There are over 2 million domestic workers in the U.S. workforce, and they are disproportionately women, immigrants, and people of color. They are some of the most vulnerable workers in the country.

As with other categories of workers, we can see that the only way to change this situation is to organize and fight, as the Philadelphia Domestic Workers Alliance is doing.

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Airport Workers Stage Sit-ins Across the U.S.

During the busy Thanksgiving holiday, airport workers carried out militant demonstrations in 17 cities. These included major airports in Dallas and New York, where 60 were arrested by the NYPD. The workers are tired of low wages and the high costs of healthcare, and innumerable abuses from their employer, Sky Chef.

In Miami, 12 catering workers and UNITE HERE union representatives blocked the arrivals road in front of Terminal D at the Miami International Airport. They chanted, “One job should be enough!”

In Dallas, demonstrator Preston Strickland told reporters, “We feel like because we’re the backbone of the catering operation, we should have affordable healthcare and better living wages.”

This is only the latest in a series of actions carried out by the Sky Chef workers in 2019.

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Trump Says U.S. Military In Syria “Only For The Oil”

By Sally Jane Black

In a rare display of honesty, Donald Trump has stated several times in the last two months that U.S. troops have only remained in Syria to “secure the oil.” Though Pentagon officials have tried to backtrack on his comments (since they are an admission of war crimes), the cat is out of the bag. While Trump previously claimed U.S. troops would be leaving the area—signaling a victory for the Syrian people under threat by U.S. imperialism—troops remain to maintain U.S. corporate control of the natural resources of the region.

The U.S. military’s presence in the Middle East is the primary cause of the instability and wars that have plagued the region for decades.

There is a long history of U.S. imperialism and militarism acting only to rob other nations of their natural resources. Whether it’s Bolivian lithium or Nigerian uranium or Iraqi oil they’re after, the U.S. military serves capitalist exploitation in its plunder of the world’s wealth. In Syria, it has been no different; the U.S. involvement there began when Syria tried to build their own gas pipeline and control their own resources. Since then, the U.S. has bombed hospitals and civilians, spread lies about use of chemical weapons, and backed all kinds of reactionary paramilitary organizations including the so-called “moderate rebels” now murdering the same Kurds the U.S. once backed.

The U.S. military’s presence in the Middle East is the primary cause of the instability and wars that have plagued the region for decades; the impact of imperialism is always violence and suffering for working people. Trump’s remarks expose the long-standing truth. US workers should stand in solidarity with the Syrian people and demand that Trump be prosecuted for the war crimes he admits to.

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Iraqi Workers Protest Poverty Created by U.S. Wars and Occupation

Anti-government protests have continued in Iraq since early October.

By Jennifer Lin

Protesters in Iraq are demanding the resignation of their government that is a product of U.S. imperialist occupation. Iraqis had built for themselves a highly developed country before the U.S. government destroyed it for access to its oil. After the Iraq monarchy was overthrown in 1958, British and American oil companies were kicked out and the oil was nationalized. By 1990, Iraq had the highest standard of living in the Middle East. The literacy rate was around 80% and people had access to free healthcare and education. More women were in the Iraqi parliament than in the U.S. Congress. Iraq’s children’s hospital accepted patients from all over the Middle East for free.

Determined to free themselves of U.S. imports, Iraq was moving to produce its own food as it did before British occupation. Similarly, they were moving to cut dependence on other industrial goods. Not buying U.S. commodities, using oil for their own national development: these were the real “crimes” that led to the U.S. wars.

Documents prove that the U.S. CIA considered Saddam a reliable ally when he was suppressing left and nationalist elements. But as soon as he implemented policies aimed at uplifting the working class and making Iraq economically self-sufficient, he became a threat to the economic and political dominance of the U.S. corporations.

To block the self-determination of the Iraqi people, the U.S. bombed the country in 1991. More than 90% of the country’s electrical capacity and most of its telecommunications, irrigation, water purification, and hydroelectric systems were destroyed. Bombs were aimed at farms, schools, hospitals, public transit stations, mosques, and historic sites. Around 200,000 people were killed, and the depleted-uranium missiles used by the U.S. led to tens of thousands more cancer-related deaths in the following years. Sanctions killed over half a million children.

In 2000, Saddam stopped accepting U.S. dollars as payment for oil. This was unprofitable for the U.S. capitalist class, so the U.S. invaded the country again. Bush invented propaganda accusing Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction, but this was just a lie used to justify the invasion so the U.S. could control Iraq’s oil wealth. After the invasion, most of Iraq’s economy was either destroyed, shut down, or privatized. Poverty and unemployment skyrocketed.

The U.S. occupation was a bonanza for war profiteers and an assault on the working class. Both Iraqi and U.S. workers bore the costs of this violent imperialist war, as U.S. taxpayer dollars were stolen to fund the destruction of Iraqi lives and livelihoods.

The U.S. trained and armed Special Police Commandos to quell resistance. These death squads terrorized civilians with open gunfire, torture, arrests, and mass murders. Continued U.S. involvement in Iraq fomented sectarian violence and pushed people to join the Islamic State, locking Iraq in a state of perpetual warfare. In 2014, Obama sent troops to Iraq to “fight terrorism,” but this was just another lie used to maintain the U.S. military stronghold in the country.

On October 1, 2019 Iraqi people from all walks of life took to the streets to demand an end to the succession of repressive governments that have ruled the country since the U.S. invasion. Beholden to the ruling elites of Iraq and the U.S., these governments have stripped the Iraqi people of jobs and access to public services.

Protesters have rejected President Salih’s promises for reform, demanding that the entire government be removed from power. Despite violent repression by security forces, the Iraqi people are refusing to back down.

U.S. Ignores Poverty, Tries to Use Protests to Attack Iran
The U.S. government which only represents the oil companies and big business is not interested in the conditions of workers in Iraq or anywhere else. Always seeking to use a situation for their own purposes, however, the U.S. working through the most reactionary clerics have tried to cast the protests as anti-Iran as this fits the agenda of the U.S. There is no credible evidence that any but a small grouping are buying into this.

Workers have nothing to gain from U.S. imperialism, which imposes capitalist poverty on other countries to make the world safe for U.S. corporate control. U.S. imperialism crushes democracy wherever it goes, as the history and current situation of Iraq show. Our struggle to live a healthy life with access to jobs, food, housing, and healthcare is connected to the ongoing struggle of the Iraqi people. Our hard-earned money is stolen and used to destroy the livelihoods of Iraqi people rather than to fund public programs that would benefit us. We must stand in solidarity with any country resisting U.S. imperialism and call for an end to U.S. intervention in the country.

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Entergy Ripping Off New Orleanians

Guarantee Electricity Not Profits!

By Milton Meyer

Entergy is a privately-owned energy company that provides electric power to the city of New Orleans for profit. As a condition of their sweetheart contract with the city government, Entergy gets a guaranteed rate of profit—technically a Return on Equity (ROE)—that is negotiated by the New Orleans City Council on behalf of the city’s capitalists.

After a year of wrangling, the City Council voted to lower Entergy’s profit to 9.35%, down from 11.1%. This leaves workers paying one of the highest energy rates in the country.

Originally, the City Council wanted the rate at 8.93%, but when Entergy squawked, Mayor Cantrell and a group of big energy users offered the 9.35% figure. Entergy’s CEO said that 9.35% was not “just and reasonable” and hampered its ability to upgrade the power grid. This after paying a $5 million fine for trying to deceive the City Council and the public by paying actors to support the construction of a widely unpopular fracked gas power plant in New Orleans East!

Entergy then offered to “front” $75 million dollars to the Sewerage and Water Board (S&WB) to upgrade its power station in return for a 10% ROE. Looking out for her friends at S&WB, Cantrell endorsed this proposal wanting us to believe that this would be a service to the people. Cantrell constantly preaches that everyone pays his or her “fair share,” but not one of Cantrell’s “fair share deals” has been anything more than an elaborate accounting trick where our money is shuffled among the pockets of the capitalists.

Now that Entergy’s profits have been “slashed,” the average consumer will see a $3 savings a month—in the short term. But don’t go splurging on Xmas gifts just yet. Soon customers will be paying $8 or more for the unwanted fracked gas plant and a solar plant.

Everyone should have the right to electricity, heat and clean water. When public utilities are privately owned, profit determines every decision. The devastating fires plaguing California are the latest example: Pacific Gas and Electricity paid millions to executives while their neglect of maintenance killed dozens and displaced thousands of people.

The New Orleans Workers Group demands that public utilities be just that— public, owned by the municipalities that use their services and run by a board of technical professionals and workers responsive to the input of the city’s working class residents.

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Trump Administration Strips Women’s Reproductive Rights

By Mkaylee Gillenwater, 10th Grade

Title X is a program that provides affordable healthcare options to people with low incomes. Title X was put in the system to give women a right to their own bodies. Donald Trump is now trying to silence women’s voices by taking away the choice of birth control options. Birth control was made for the sole reason to let women choose the option of safer sex and allow more control over their bodies; without it women will no longer have that power within their own skin. 98% of women who have been sexually active have used birth control at one point in their lives.

Trump is trying to criminalize abortions and miscarriages. Back in the day, before birth control methods, some women who got pregnant would use a clothes hanger to abort the fetus because abortion was illegal. It was extremely dangerous but their only option. With abortion now legalized, it gives women a safe way to make their own choices about their bodies. If Donald Trump takes away birth control and makes abortion illegal, it makes women completely stuck.

Planned Parenthood is also at stake. Planned Parenthood helps provide physical, emotional, educational and sexual health care to those who might not be able to afford those services elsewhere. Donald Trump is taking away $60 million in Planned Parenthood funding. If they lose too much money, prices will start going up for patients who already can not afford higher medical prices to begin with.

These laws were put in place to give women their rights to their own bodies. Women who get pregnant should have the right to multiple choices on which way they would like to handle it. Women should also have the right to choose not to get pregnant if that’s where they’re at in their life. But ultimately, it is the woman’s choice. Donald Trump has no right to take away rights that do not affect him.